on our broadcast tonight, the rematch, two powerful campaigns prepare for a second high-pressure debate in new york tomorrow night, with polling numbers still on the move and a whole lot riding on the outcome. growing concerns, that the meningitis outbreak could be expanding, linked to more medicines than first thought. and growing concern, as doctors reond to what patients want, and alternative medicine goes full stream. sky fall, tonight we get to see a new view of the super sonic dive from the edge of space and making a difference, we get to watch in awe as children who live in silence get to hear for the first time. nightly news begins now.

good evening, if you don't think there is a lot of pressure heading into tomorrow night's second presidential debate, consider this. the last time these two men met it changed the tenor of the race, gave a boost to romney, and forced a re-assessment of the president's performance. and look at two of the latest national polls of likely voters, both politico and "the washington post" show the national numbers are within the margin of error. that is why when the two meet at hofstra, we begin with peter alexander at the debate meeting, peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you, let me show you inside this debate hall. once again, mitt romney will be in the seat on the left, the president gets the seat on the right. i was just down there on set and

the paint is actually still wet. tomorrow night, both men will have a chance to debate, with many undecided. after a weekend limited brief sightings, mitt romney left church services, and today, both candidates are again studying quietly. president obama at this exclusive williamsburg, virginia, hotel, wrapping up what debate experts call the debate coaching. on the eve of his lackluster denver debate, the president took a trip to the hoover dam, today, not a single event planned in massachusetts, it was about substance, including where to look, at the president, the moderator or the campaigner. aides tell nbc news the president will bring up romney's comments, seemingly to talk about the 47% of americans as victims.

an admission in denver that puzzled supporters. both are trying to fend off questions that dog their campaign, the president on his administration's failure to add security, before the last month's attack on libya. >> this goes to the security professionals at the state department, but didn't come to the white house. >> reporter: romney, for vague explanations on the tax plan. >> i think the president understands the tax rate needs to come down. we need to broaden the base. the match, the numbers show a dead heat. romney's strong debate performance credited with a strong change in perception, with many holding a favorable view of the republican nominee. and those polls matter, brian, because 40 states are already voting. among the folks who were voting before november 6, michelle obama, voting today, and the president himself who will vote later this month when he is home in illinois. brian. >> peter alexander, inside the

debate venue starting us off, thank you. and we have more on this critical debate format, the opportunities, the potential pitfalls of the modern day town hall. our report today from andrea mitchell. >> i'll turn to you for a few questions. >> so everybody take a seat so i can see who wants to answer questions. it is a format that should favor barack obama, who out distances romney with the favor this year, the president's town halls are rare, and sometimes not in person. >> there is a huge demand for engineers around the country right now. >> i understand that, but how -- i mean. >> yeah. >> given the list that you're getting, i mean, we're not getting that. >> reporter: and after his first debate performance, the president is being pulled in two

directions, get tough with romney, be nice to the audience. other lessons from the past, don't look at your watch, stay out of your opponent's personal space, don't be cranky. you know who voted for it? might never know. tom brokaw who did it four years ago, said the moderators should get combat pay. >> you may not notice, gentlemen, but we have lights, green, red. >> reporter: oh, yes, the time limits. >> i said to the commission in advance, i just can't be a potted plant like a game show host just asking one question off a card after the other. >> reporter: this year, both campaigns are already trying to gain the information on the referee. it would reduce her role to being a timekeeper. she has made it clear she is having none of it. >> what about x, y and z? >>so the most powerful candidates in the world will have to be on their toes, facing real people and a journalist for 90 minutes. andrea mitchell, washington. and chuck todd with us tonight, for more on this. and chuck, the crowd, the

questioners say nothing of the moderator, becomes almost the third man in this format. >> reporter: no, it does, and you have to be careful, you know, you can attack a moderator and you win points with the public. you attack a member of the public and you lose points for the public. this race is at a nice edge, you no longer call it close, but the president has structural advances, there are no butt's, it is that close now, the opportunities and pit falls have to do with this format. with this format, mitt romney's big hurdle is the issue of relating to the average joe and jane, well, joe and jane are asking questions tomorrow night. he pulls that off, breaks through this one barrier, and the structural issue could change and give him an advantage. the president, of course, has to re-paint mitt romney as being the out-of-touch rich guy. we'll see if he can pull it off.

>> chuck, thank you, we'll see you in 24 hours and of course have every moment of tomorrow night's debate. here live, gets under way 9:00, 6 on the west coast. and we turn now to the tainted shots from a pharmacy in massachusetts, the numbers have gone up, 15 people died as a result. 214 cases now in the news tonight. the fear, that is, other drugs that were made at the same place could also be a problem, our senior investigator lisa myers has more. >> reporter: brian, today, the government broadened the warning today to include other products made by the pharmacy at the heart of the meningitis outbreak. the new england compounding center. the fda says it is investigating three new cases, one, a possible case of meningitis that may be tied to a second steroid used for spinal injections, the other cases are rare fungal infections

that could be tied to a heart surgery solution now the fda is urging doctors who gave any injectable product, drugs used in eye surgery or cardiac patients, to contact the cdc out of an abundance of caution. thank you. we have an update tonight on the 14-year-old pakistani girl who has become an inspiration to so many people around the world. she has been flown out of pakistan to a hospital in the uk for treatment, a week after she was shot by taliban gunmen because she pushed for education for young girls, her new hospital has experience in treating battlefield injuries among returning troops. and perhaps you were one of many who watched yesterday, felix baumgartner jumped from space, 24 miles up, the first man to break the sound barrier, diving without aircraft. he landed on his feet, but not without scary moments on the way

down and tonight, we're getting to see for the first time what he saw on his way down. we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the view is breathtaking, the blackness of space, the curvature of the earth, and felix baumgartner's death-defying jump from 24 miles up. >> really high. >> reporter: with that, he was gone. and today we got new video from a camera on baumgartner's space suit, the edge of space, and the earth rolling into view. with little wind resistance, baumgartner quickly broke the sound barrier, and rocketed to 833 miles per hour, mach 1.24, then the violent, stomach-wrenching spin that had everyone fearing the worst. and now the view from the space suit.

>> it started spinning wildly, i was always trying to find out how to stop it. >> reporter: one expert narrated the mission. >> a spin is a very dangerous thing, they work very hard to try to avoid it. but you know, nobody has had experience up there at that many feet, there are no nasa suits generated to ward that off. >> reporter: if he continued to spin, he could black out, even die, making matters worse, his face plate was fogged over. he had to find a way to stop the spin. >> i was putting one arm out, it didn't work >> you are always late, because at that speed when you travel at that speed, with the pressure, you don't feel the air at all. >> reporter: finally he re-gained control, and after four and a half minutes nearly, he pulled over the parachute in the desert, and a hug from his girlfriend and mother. a record-breaker, riveting viewing, for a worldwide audience, 8 million watching on youtube alone, the highest and fastest free fall ever. tom costello, nbc news, washington.

and not to be outdone by a guy free falling from the edge of space with no aircraft and breaking the sound barrier, chuck yaeger, who broke the sound barrier, now is 89 and did it yesterday for good measure, he was at the controls to remember his anniversary. he was in a two-seat aircraft he pushed the throttle up and over the once mythical mark. still ahead for us tonight, alternative therapies, now considered essential by a lot of doctors because their patients have demanded it. and later, a rare interview with ethel kennedy, and a family member 50 years ago when the americans feared their world would be coming to an end.

tonight, we kick off a series of reports on medicine called "what is the alternative"? in fact for decades, we used that alternative medicine, in fact so common now we use the name, complimentary, to use the practice. and a lot of it has simply been demanded by patients from their doctors. our report from chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: this breast cancer survivor, diana miller, has been through it all in the last years, chemotherapy, a

mastectomy, and now, a painful system caused by treatment. this is how she begins each day. >> exercise is a lot better than taking drugs. >> reporter: and she turns to acupuncture to preserve the movement in her arm. >> i have better feeling in this arm. >> reporter: dr. barrie casille, a pioneer in the field of complimentary medicine, runs this facility at sloan kettering center in new york >> acupuncture doesn't cure cancer, but it is extremely helpful in the setting, because it can control multiple settings, some of which are not even treatable with main medicine. which is why the oldest cancer treatment center in the world offers alternative medicine complimentary medicine has gone

mainstream >> it is not enough to say you're finished with the chemotherapy and radiation, and so on, good-bye, have a good life, while the patient is suffering from a wide range of problems. >> reporter: massage for lung cancer patients is offered, and rules out stress. casille stresses the treatments only work together with the usual treatments, not as a replacement. >> finding out what i can do myself helps, frankly it really, really does help. >> imagine the energy going through the body. >> reporter: east meets west, old school, new school, another increasingly important tool for cancer patients everywhere. >> and while doctors and patients are increasingly on the same page with it comes to this medicine, insurance companies have some catching up to do. you can still get coverage for opiates or prescription pain medications, but not necessarily for that yoga class, so that is

the main room for improvement. and tomorrow, we'll talk about the number one illness of baby boomers, back pain. >> i'm glad we're taking on this whole subject, thank you very much. and we're back with a well known name in washington under investigation tonight.

funeral services set for tomorrow for former pennsylvania senator arlen specter, who died yesterday at the age of 82 after battling multiple health problems during his four decades in public life. the long-time senate chairman was involved in many high political fights. particularly over supreme court nominees. after he switched parties the year before, he will long be remembered as an inspiration, for those who lived with illness, something we talked about back in 2005. >> you realize that you're something of a hero to a lot of people living with cancer? >> i have no apologies for

having hogkins lymphoma, and i'll go right about doing my business. >> the senator lost his long fight with cancer just yesterday, with vice president joe biden among the mourners. and jesse jackson, jr., the subject of a criminal investigation, looking into using campaign funds for a home renovation the federal investigation apparently pre-dates his sudden and unexplained disappearance from congress, which was followed by a statement from office that at first he was being treated for bipolar disorder. he has not spoken publicly about this or any other matter since june. and this year, an hbo movie about ethel kennedy, who has given few interviews in the past years, but this year, one of her children is a documentary filmmaker, so it was hard to turn down.

today, they agreed to sit down with us for an interview airing tomorrow on "nightly news." we wanted to show you a portion of it as it deals with the cuban missile crisis. specifically, a dramatic vote of kennedy family members when the americans were fearing a real possibility of a nuclear strike. >> i remember going into the boy's bedroom, and all the children were there. we were just saying our evening prayers, and bobby said to each of the children, "this might be the end. do you want to go out west or you could stay here? it is your choice." and each one of them said stay here. so that was really great. >> part of our conversation to air tomorrow night with ethel kennedy. we're back in a moment with tonight's "making a difference report" watching the eyes of

children change before our very eyes.

you are about to witness what making a difference looks like. you're also going to get to hear what it sounds like. thanks to one man who travels

the world, handing out a special gift to those who could not afford it on their own. chelsea clinton has more. >> reporter: she has accomplished a lot by any standards, she learned to play the piano by watching youtube video she writes her own music. and plays a mean game of softball. but what makes this 15-year-old even more special? she has been legally deaf since birth. but that may be about to change. >> we want to take our time. >> reporter: he owns the hearing technologies, the biggest hearing manufacturer in the united states. once a year, he comes to yankees stadium and sets up shop for hearing-impaired kids and adults who couldn't afford the latest models. >> i have new ears today, i am

happy. >> we're going to put this over the ear. >> reporter: austin fits stephanie with state-of-the-art devices. >> i can hear that. >> can you hear that? >> yes. >> is it loud enough? >> reporter: devices her mom's insurance won't cover. >> it is like a new shoe, okay? >> reporter: after years of silence, stephanie can hear. when is the last time you heard out of your left ear? >> before second grade, and i'm in tenth grade now. >> so more than eight years? >> yes. >> does the room sound different? >> yes, it sounds louder. >> sounds louder? and is that loudness annoying? why is it annoying? >> because i'm not like used to having the sound into my left ear, so it is overwhelming for me. >> reporter: austin has given the gift of hearing all over the world, to some 800,000 people in the past 12 years. >> together, we do better, yes, i feel better.

you feel better, we both win. >> reporter: the kids get the chance to meet the yankees icon, and manager joe gerardi, who dropped by just before game time. >> want to invite you today to come down on the field, and you will be able to hear all the sounds of the bat. >> reporter: he even gave her some pointers on how to bat a thousand. >> i feel like i'm a new baby, hearing again. >> all of a sudden they're out of darkness, and all of the sounds are around them, they just come alive. >> reporter: with the help of a generous man who gives the gift of sound, chelsea clinton, nbc news, new york. >> and this is our broadcast on this monday night as we start a new week, thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you right back here of course, tomorrow evening. good night.

thanks for joining us on this monday evening. a revolving door of offenders committing the same crimes over and over. a bankrupt state and overcrowded prisons. it's a formula that forced california to institute re-alignment as the governor called it last october. well, here we are a year later, and now what? in tonight's reality check sam brock joins us to look to see whether re-alignment is working. is it? >> that's the question, jessica. it's produced